The Child She Left Behind
by adventurous-wonderland
Summary: In which Kurama loves Kushina, and protects the child she left behind. [Spans from the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha to Pain's Attack]


i.

For a few glorious hours, he was free. True, he was under the control of the one with the Sharingan, but no longer was he bound within a prison of flesh. He was fire, he was destruction, and he was free.

(And then he was not)

ii.

He was bound again, deep in the mind of a yellow-haired child with eyes like the sky. And his old host, his beautiful, flame-haired Kushina with laughing eyes, was dead. Kurama wanted to die, too, and take the child with him.

(But he remembered how Kushina had said " _My_ Naruto," and lived for the child.)

iii.

The villagers hated the child, and Kurama hated them. Where they saw a monster, he saw only Kushina. The child was lost, and empty, and Kurama knew that if he guided the child, anger and hate would be all he knew. Kushina had wanted more for her son than pain and wrath,

(So Kurama slept deep within the child, and did not stir.)

iv.

Kurama misses Kushina. He had not thought himself capable of such emotions, but the thought of Kushina makes his chest ache. He misses Kushina more than he misses being free.

(If he is being honest, he would rather see Kushina just once more than be free for eternity.)

v.

Kushina's child grows, and Kurama watches from within with sleepy eyes. The boy is assigned to a team with two other children. The other boy has the Sharingan, and Kurama recoils. The girl is weak, but reminds him of another girl, one who Kushina cherished. Their teacher is a man he knows well, the silver haired child who Kushina had loved and cherished.

(He remembers the other boy Kushina had loved, the one with the Sharingan who had taken everything from Kurama and Naruto and says nothing.)

vi.

Naruto learns of Kurama, and is not pleased. Kurama aids the child when he can, pulling him back from the brink of death while allowing Naruto to keep control. Naruto grows stronger every day, and Kurama is proud because Kushina cannot be. Then the boy with the Sharingan leaves, and Naruto nearly loses control while pursuing him.

(And Kurama wonders why he always loses everything to the Sharingan.)

vii.

Naruto leaves Kushina's village to train with his father's teacher. He wants to control Kurama. Secretly, Kurama hopes he succeeds. But Naruto loses control again, and Kurama lashes out at the Toad Sannin.

(He cannot help it; this man should have protected Kushina, should have shielded Naruto from the hateful villagers.)

viii.

Naruto chases the boy-with-the-Sharingan, and the Akatsuki chase Naruto. After hurting Naruto's teammate, the weak-girl-who-is-now-strong, Naruto stops relying on Kurama. And Kurama is afraid.

(He does not know if he is strong enough to protect Kushina's precious son.)

ix.

They are so close to the boy-with-the-Sharingan, and Kurama can feel Naruto's impatience. He has not called on Kurama in some time, and Kurama is no longer afraid. He is grateful. He does not want to hurt those Naruto holds dear.

(Then the masked man with the Sharingan appears, and Kurama is afraid again,)

x.

The masked man is the boy Kushina had adored. She had called him "Obito" with a voice almost as soft as the voice she called Naruto's name with. He wants to warn Naruto, but he had been buried too deep by the child's determination.

(So Kurama sleeps, and dreams Kushina alive again.)

xi.

The one they call Pain hurts the white-eyed girl, and Naruto's rage and pain flood Kurama. He does not understand this desperation, but it is the same as what he felt when Kushina died. He will end Pain for hurting Naruto if it is the last thing he does. But the one Kushina loved, Naruto's father, stops him from tearing the seal.

(And Kurama is relieved, because Naruto needs a father, not a monster like him.)

xii.

The villagers hail Naruto as a hero, and Kurama could not be more proud. He is glad Minato stopped Naruto from freeing him. He does not want the villagers to hate Naruto again; Kushina's child is worth more than that. He retreats again, deep within Naruto's mind.

(Kurama is alone again, but loneliness is a small price to pay for saving Kushina's son.)

((And all I loved, I loved alone.))

* * *

I don't own Naruto. The quote at the end is from Edgar Allen Poe. Reviews are appreciated :)


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